We have been to Serbia several times in the last three years, but always in the northern part, and, obviously, in Belgrade. We met refugees near refugee camps and reception centers (entering is a very complicated legal process), in various squats and even simply on the street. We met volunteers and activists who have taken the situation to heart for years.
But…we had never been to Presevo, a city in Serbia in the southern part of the country, on the border with Kosovo and North Macedonia.
The population is made up of a large majority of Albanians, and in fact the general atmosphere is really different! Like being in another country.
But before arriving in Presevo, we stopped in Nis to meet Tamara, the coordinator of the NGO Indigo. In the little time we had available, Tamara gave us a tour of the city, telling us about her long “career” as an activist, from 1999 until now. How much she must have seen all these years! And it is truly admirable how much she still does for the marginalized.
She took us to the center run by Indigo for Roma children, and so we spent some time with these wonderful and also very musically talented children!
Some areas of Presevo struck me with the huge expanses of rubbish, but the people are very friendly. In the past they received thousands of refugees, and now there is still a camp hosting a few hundred people.
We made friends with a Syrian boy, Nassar, who told us his story and with whom we are still in contact. Hearing these tragic stories firsthand is never easy.
We then went to Bujanovac camp, which hosts mostly families. In fact, we were attracted by a small fire where two boys were cooking some chicken wings, outside the camp, amongst abandoned factories. They were cooking for the wife of one of them, who had just become a mother and, as they said, needed extra food after the delivery. This new father was simply over the moon, no matter the present squalid living conditions, the uncertain future, the poverty.
What mattered was that baby that we managed to have a glimpse of, that new life that blossomed there, in a refugee camp.
The music made the children come running to us, and even the camp staff turned a blind eye, saying: “sing, sing, music is good for us”
We also saw Ali again, originally from Eritrea, whom we had met last year in the Kikinda camp, in the north, on the border with Romania. He was already sick there, but he still joined our group. You can see him on the right, with the green hat. And below, still in poor health but grateful for a roof and a meal.
I spent the evening in Belgrade with Kia, a long time activist in Serbia. She was interested to know our impressions of Presevo, apparently many migrants were rejected there from northern Serbia. She mentioned how rumors are spreading that traffickers are now armed, which obviously scares people. We passed through the Pirot camp, on the border with Bulgaria. It was heavily surrounded by police, so there wasn’t much to do.
Better World Croatia / Per un mondo migliore 